On-line system for generating individualized training plans

ABSTRACT

The internet based training system creates an individualized training plan designed to achieve a particular training purpose and delivers the plan to the individual user or athlete via the internet. The training system includes a local user interface and a remote server accessed via the internet. The remote server includes a computer program and a number of databases containing team information, athlete information, exercise information and training programs associated with specific training purposes such as a specific sport or activity. An algorithm is used for determining the weight of each exercise to be performed for each period in the training cycle of a particular training program. The computer program automatically creates a specific training plan using information from the databases and the weight determined by the algorithm.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to a system for generating athletic andfitness training plans, and more particularly concerns such a systemwhich includes individually adapted exercises and intensities thereforrelated to particular sports and fitness activities.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the internet-based training system for athletes comprises:a user interface; a training program database which stores at least onetraining program, comprising a series of preconfigured exercises; anexercise database comprising a plurality of individual separateexercises and selected information, if any, relating to each exercise;an exercise algorithm for determining exercise intensity to be used foreach exercise in the training program; and a computer program fordetermining automatically, following initiation, a training plan for anindividual athlete based on input data about the individual athlete,training program data from the training program database, exercise datafrom the exercise database and the exercise algorithm, wherein thecomputer program provides back to a user the training plan, wherein thecomputer program, the training program database, and the exercisedatabase are at a remote location, wherein the communication with theuser interface occurs over a computer network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the components of the training system,including a user interface portion.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the major components of the trainingsystem.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the sequence of functions of the trainingsystem.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The training system includes a local user interface with an internetcapability in combination with a server with several database portionsat a remote location. The training system includes the ability to inputindividual and team data including initial and on-going strength dataand to obtain from the remote server an appropriate training plan.

In general, the outcome of the training system is an individualathlete-focused training plan but can include a plurality of individualplans for athletes comprising an entire team which will typically beoverseen by a coach. An “athlete” is herein defined as any individualfor whom data, including strength data, is provided to the system andwho actually performs the exercises contained in the training plan. A“coach” is herein defined as any individual who oversees the performanceby the athlete or athletes of the exercises contained in the trainingplan. The system is based on a predetermined set of exercises designedfor a specific training purpose, e.g. performance in a specific sport,with the intensity of the exercises being based on strength feedbackinformation from the individual athlete. The individual plans aretypically based on a year-long cycle or time period relating to thetiming of the specific sport season.

FIG. 1 shows the major components of the system, referred to generallyat 10. The system includes a local user interface 12, which isaccessible to a user, such as a coach or individual athlete, and aremote server 13. The user interface 12 can be located at a personalcomputer or similar device, typically, but not necessarily, at thetraining facility of the team/user. Basically, the user interface 12 ispresented to the user through a web browser or other similarapplication. The user interface 12 has three significant functions.First, it is available for data input, including information concerninga team as well as the individual users. This information is stored at 14and 16, respectively. Team database 14 will store all relevant teaminformation that has been inputted by the user through input 18.Referring to FIG. 2, the team information will include, but is notlimited to, the sport played by the team, the team name, the profile ofthe facility, including a description of the workout equipment,information about the coaches, information about the players, includingthe names of the players, the position of each player on the team, andthe season start and end dates.

A user (athlete) database 16 receives input information for individualathletes, including, but not limited to, data concerning the athlete'sindividual account, the billing data and the profile data concerning theathlete, including the height and weight of the athlete, as well as thecertain athletic test results, including strength information.

The user interface also includes a request function/input for a trainingplan, shown at 24, which can be operated once the team and athleteinformation have been entered. The request is directed to a trainingplan computer program in the remote server, referred to as training planbuilder 26. This program in operation obtains data from the user andteam databases 14 and 16 as well as information from a training programdatabase 32, an exercise database 30, and an exercise intensityalgorithm 34 to construct a comprehensive training plan. The trainingplan is provided back to the user interface at 24. The user interfacethen typically displays the plan at 27.

The exercise database 30 stores a large number of specific separateexercises. The exercises in database 30 are preconfigured, static andcannot be changed by inputs to the team and user database by the user.The exercises stored in database 30 are not per se associated with aparticular sport or body part in the database. The exercise data willtypically include the recognized name of the exercise, as well as ashort explanation of the exercise and how to perform it, the equipmentrequired to perform the exercise, as well as other coaching points. Insome cases, an alternate exercise is provided, such as to accommodate aninjury or in the event that the designated equipment is unavailable. Foreach exercise, there is number data, i.e. sets or reps, as well as datafor calculating the intensity, i.e. weight, for each set. In thisembodiment the content of the exercise database cannot be altered by theuser, however, alternative embodiments may allow for users topreconfigure exercise data.

The training program database 32 stores preconfigured (preset) trainingprograms. It includes all of the different preconfigured trainingprograms in the overall system. The training program database couldinclude the exercise database. A training program consists of a subsetof exercises existing in exercise database 30 particularly arranged toachieve a specific training purpose. Each training program is loadedinto the database as a static program, i.e. it cannot be changed byinputs to the team and user database by the user. Each training programso loaded is associated with a specific sport and includes a particularpreselected array of exercises for the athlete to perform, as well aswhen they are to be performed (time schedule) and in what sequence.There will be preferably one training program per sport. In the presentembodiment, the content of a training program cannot be altered by theuser, however, alternative embodiments may allow for users to change theconfiguration of a particular training program by changing the numberand/or the particular exercises in the program or the intensitiesthereof.

The exercise intensity algorithm 34 uses data from the exercise databaseand user input data to calculate the intensity (the weight) for each setof a selected exercise in each season/phase/week/day of training, asdiscussed in more detail below. As the user periodically inputs newdata, new intensity numbers will be created by the intensity algorithm.The algorithm in the present embodiment is:

(base exercise 1 RM)×(load %)×(intensity %)

1 RM (one rep maximum) refers to the maximum weight lifted by theathlete for a single rep of a preselected base exercise. Typically, eachexercise in the exercise database 30 has one associated base exercise;for example, the base exercise for the incline press is the bench press.The preferred embodiment of each sport's training program includes threeto five pre-established base exercises. However, in some sports, fewerthan three or more than five base exercises may be used. For example,the base exercises for the football training program are the benchpress, the back squat, the hang clean, the push jerk and the deadlift.

The load percentage refers to the percentage of the base exercise 1 RMthat would approximately be the maximum weight lifted by the athlete fora single rep of the selected exercise. For example, the load percentageof the incline press (selected exercise) is 80% of the bench press (baseexercise). This estimates that the athlete's incline press 1 RM is 80%of the athlete's bench press 1 RM.

The intensity percentage is based on the point within a specifictraining program that the exercise is to be performed. Each exercise hasa defined intensity percentage for each point in the training programthat it might be performed. For example, the intensity percentage forthe bench press in the first set of the first week of the first phase ofthe football training program is 55%. The intensity percentage will thusvary throughout the program.

The outcome of the algorithm is a specific intensity (weight) of aspecific exercise to be performed by a given athlete at a given point ina specific training program.

The comprehensive plan builder 26 is a computer program that uses datafrom the four databases (14, 16, 30 and 32) and the exercise intensityalgorithm 34 to assemble a training plan, in response to a request froma user through the user interface 24.

The system can be accessed by a user, such as an athlete, to obtain atraining plan for a selected sport or accessed by a coach to obtainplans for multiple athletes on a team. FIG. 3 shows the overall processof the system, which operates only after the team data and athlete datahave been previously entered into their respective databases. The firststep in operation of the system is shown at 40, which is a request for atraining plan from a user for a particular sport for an entire team orfor an individual athlete. The request can be initiated through useraction, or the request can occur automatically, such as at a particulartime of year. The request is directed from a local computerstation/terminal to the server at the remote location over a computernetwork such as the internet. The remote server contains the trainingplan builder 26, the four databases (14, 16, 30, and 32) and theintensity algorithm 34. In the preferred embodiment, the databases areseparate and number four; however, in other embodiments, the databasesmay be combined or further divided to a number fewer than or greaterthan four.

In step 42, training plan builder 26 obtains data from team database 14for the team which includes the athlete for whom the plan is beingconstructed. Typically, the team data obtained will include, but is notnecessarily limited to, the sport or the team that the particularathlete is on, and a series of dates pertinent to the schedule of thesport/team for the given year, and any relevant facilities data. In thenext step, shown at 46, the plan builder 26 uses the team data to selectan appropriate preconfigured training program from the training programdatabase 32. For example, if the sport selected is football, a footballprogram is selected and obtained from the database 32. As indicatedabove, a training program is a set of exercises for a particular athleteto perform, including when they should be performed and in whatsequence. The training program does not include information concerningthe volume (sets/reps) or intensity that should be used for eachexercise.

In the next step, shown at 48, specific exercise data is obtained fromthe exercise database 30 for each of the exercises in the selectedtraining program. This data will include, as indicated above, the nameof each exercise, the description of each exercise (including pictures,diagrams or video), any coaching points, the volume (sets/reps), and thenumbers used for the intensity calculation.

In the next step at 50, data is obtained from the user database 16 forthe individual athlete. This data includes athlete profile data, theperformance of the athlete in initial strength tests such as the 1 RMdata, and any injury data.

In the next step 52, the intensity (weight) of each exercise in theselected program is produced from the athlete data and the exercisedata, using the exercise intensity algorithm 34 described above. Theintensity algorithm is used only for the purpose of determiningrecommended weights to be used for the various exercises and does notaffect the training plan in any other way. Intensity is calculatedindependently for each exercise.

The actual training plan for the individual athlete is then assembled,as shown at 54 and then provided back to the user through the userinterface. The plan itself can be viewed at the user interface, or itcan be exported to another device or printer.

The end result of the system is a training plan which can besport-specific, which includes a set of exercises which arepredetermined, static, and unique to each sport. Each such training planis typically directed toward a year-long training cycle, broken downinto seasons, phases, weeks, and days. Each season, phase, week, and day(or other period) is designed to accomplish specific goals and, incombination, produce a comprehensive annual training plan.

The training cycle refers to the entire year of an athlete's trainingfrom the beginning of the off-season to the end of the post-season. Eachannual training cycle will typically consist of four or five individualtraining blocks typically comprised of four or five phases. Eachtraining phase is a group of weeks, typically two or three, or othershort periods that share a common exercise regimen but vary in intensityin accordance with the exercise intensity algorithm. The duration of atraining phase may be several weeks, one week or several days.

Each training program for a particular sport and the exercises thereofcomprising the training program is designed in accordance with specificmovements associated with the athletic performance of that sport, notnecessarily particular muscles or body parts. Each daily trainingregimen includes, but is not limited to, a resistance-based warm-up, anexplosive or rapid movement, resistance training, injury preventionmovements, and speed/agility training. The program uses a specific,unique schedule for each sport and each individual athlete thatdetermines the timing of each training season, phase, and week inaccordance with the start date and end date of the sport season.

Accordingly, an on-line system for generating individualized trainingplans has been disclosed which utilizes a significant amount of specificinformation, much of which is fixed for each sport, but is broken downinto a particular time sequence to achieve improved sports performance.

Although a preferred embodiment has been disclosed for purposes ofillustration, it should be understood that various changes andmodifications and substitutions could be made in the preferredembodiment without departing from the spirit of the invention as definedby the claims which follow:

What is claimed is:
 1. An internet-based training system for athletes,comprising: a user interface; a training program database which storesat least one training program, comprising a series of preconfiguredexercises; an exercise database comprising a plurality of individualseparate exercises and selected information, if any, relating to eachexercise; an exercise algorithm for determining exercise intensity to beused for each exercise in the training program; and a computer programfor determining automatically, following initiation, a training plan foran individual athlete based on input data about the individual athlete,training program data from the training program database, exercise datafrom the exercise database and the exercise algorithm, wherein thecomputer program provides back to a user the training plan, wherein thecomputer program, the training program database, and the exercisedatabase are at a remote location, wherein the communication with theuser interface occurs over a computer network.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein initiation of the computer program and the providing of thetraining plan occurs through the user interface.
 3. The system of claim1, wherein the training program database stores a plurality of trainingprograms.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein the training programs areassociated with performance in specific sports.
 5. The system of claim1, including a team database containing information about a team whichcomprises a plurality of individual athletes.
 6. The system of claim 1,including an athlete database containing information about individualathletes, including exercise strength information performed by theathlete or estimated by the athlete or other user.
 7. The system ofclaim 1, wherein each program includes a training cycle which coversin-season and out-of-season time periods.
 8. The system of claim 7,wherein the training cycle is one year.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein the exercise intensity determined by the exercise intensityalgorithm is adjustable in accordance with adjustments in input strengthdata from the athlete.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the inputstrength data correlates to performance or estimated performance of baseexercises in the training program.
 11. The system of claim 7, whereinthe training cycle comprises a plurality of training blocks which arecomprised of a plurality of training phases which in turn are comprisedof weeks which vary in intensity.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein asingle training phase covers a one to four week exercise regimen. 13.The system of claim 12, wherein a single training week comprises 2-5days of exercises.
 14. The system of claim 3, wherein each trainingprogram includes 3-5 base exercises.
 15. The system of claim 1, whereinthe exercise intensity algorithm incorporates a one rep maximum weightactually performed or estimated for the athlete for one or more selectedexercises.
 16. The system of claim 1, wherein the exercise algorithm is:(base exercise 1 RM)×(load %)×(intensity %)
 17. The system of claim 1,wherein the preconfigured exercises include specific body movementsassociated with a selected training purpose.
 18. The system of claim 1,wherein the training plan includes a resistance-based warm-up, explosivemovements, resistance exercises, injury prevention movements, andspeed/agility exercises.
 19. The system of claim 1, wherein thepreconfigured exercises for the training program are selected by theuser.
 20. The system of claim 1, wherein the separate exercises in thetraining program are configured by the user.